Rajnath inaugurates Rs 300 crore BrahMos production unit in UP

Lucknow: BrahMos is not just a weapon but a "message of strength" of India's armed forces, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Sunday at the inauguration of the largest integration and testing facility of the supersonic cruise missile system.

"India is now one of the most powerful nations in the world. We are constantly increasing our strength, and I believe that the facility centre that is being inaugurated today will help in further strengthening India's power," he said while virtually addressing the event from Delhi.

"BrahMos is one of the world's fastest, supersonic cruise missiles. BrahMos is not just a weapon, but it is a message in itself. A message of the strength of our armed forces. A message of our deterrence towards the enemy. A message of our commitment to safeguarding our borders," Singh said.

The country's largest BrahMos integration and testing facility centre in Lucknow will strengthen India's efforts towards self-reliance in the defence sector, the Defence Minister said, addressing the inaugural ceremony at the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor in his Lok Sabha constituency.

"A good thing is that in this defence corridor, we are seeing very important participation of both public and private sectors," he said.

On the private sector, he noted that PTC Industries Limited is starting Titanium and super-alloy material plants. "Apart from this, the foundation of seven additional critical projects is also being laid. This will certainly accelerate the pace of India's self-reliance in the defence sector," the defence minister said.

Major investments have been made in aircraft manufacturing, UAVs, drones, ammunition, composite and critical materials, small arms, textiles and parachutes, he said.

"When our government moved forward with the vision of a defence corridor in Uttar Pradesh... one of our objectives was that we should once again develop Uttar Pradesh as the production centre of the country.

"The UP Defence corridor passes through Lucknow, Kanpur, Jhansi, Chitrakoot, Agra and Aligarh, and all these nodes will emerge as new centres of development in the coming times," Singh said.

He expressed happiness that the project was completed in just 40 months.

"Looking at the circumstances around us today, it becomes very important that we continue to fulfil our goals in such a timely manner," Singh said and congratulated the DRDO, engineers and people and institutes associated with this project.

Singh said the inauguration of the BrahMos facility assumes importance as it took place on National Technology Day.

"On this day in 1998, under the leadership of respected Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji, our scientists showed India's strength to the world by conducting nuclear tests in Pokhran.

"That test was the result of the tireless efforts of our scientists, engineers, defence personnel and many other stakeholders. This is the day to recognise our scientists and engineers and acknowledge their contribution," he said.

National Technology Day commemorates the momentous events of May 11, 1998, when India successfully conducted nuclear tests under Operation Shakti, and saw the maiden flight of the indigenously developed Hansa-3 aircraft.

In recognition of these achievements, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee declared May 11 as National Technology Day.

"Today is an important day for me personally. Because I had a dream for my city, Lucknow, that my city would make a big contribution in strengthening India's Defence sector, that dream is now being fulfilled," Rajnath Singh, who is the Lok Sabha MP from Lucknow, said.

"Today is a historic day for our city, Lucknow, our state Uttar Pradesh, and our entire country. Today, I believe, is a day to worship the power that gives strength to our forces, which lies in our forces and wreaks havoc on the enemy," Singh said.

The Rs 300-crore facility is a key part of the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor and represents India's commitment to self-reliant defence manufacturing, the Ministry of Defence said.

"It includes not only missile production but also testing, integration, and a materials complex for aerospace-grade components. A major leap toward #AtmanirbharBharat and a strategic boost to regional industrial growth," the Ministry of Defence said on X.

The Uttar Pradesh government had said the facility will manufacture one of the world's fastest supersonic cruise missiles, with a range of 290 to 400 km and a top speed of Mach 2.8.

The missile, a product of BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture between India and Russia, can be launched from land, sea, or air and uses a "fire and forget" system.

Completed in three-and-a-half years, the BrahMos production unit in Lucknow is spread over 80 hectares of land provided free of cost by the Uttar Pradesh government, the state government had said in the statement.

The UP Defence Industrial Corridor, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018, has six nodes --- Lucknow, Kanpur, Aligarh, Agra, Jhansi, and Chitrakoot -- where major investments are being made to boost defence manufacturing.

Uttar Pradesh is the second state after Tamil Nadu to establish a Defence Industrial Corridor, it added.